Tokka Week Oneshots
by Calysra
Summary: Includes the prompts "Oblivious", "Flame", "When you Walk Away", and "Hide and Seek". All one-shots. An even mix of humor, sorrow, reality and AU. Shipping: Tokka, obviously.
1. Oblivious

Day Two: Oblivious

Toph lay back on the comfortingly hard ground. "I don't see how anyone can be so oblivious."

Aang, who happened to be laid out on the ground as well, lifted his head off his hands slightly to send a glance Toph's way, wondering what she was talking about. He watched as she looked around sightlessly, and then finally put her face into the sun's warmth and sighed. Aang ticked off possibilities quickly. She was talking _to _him, so she couldn't be talking _about_ him. So she had to be talking about Katara or Sokka, and if anyone could recognize what she was feeling, it was the young avatar.

"You talking about Sokka?" He asked nonchalantly. Toph snorted.

"Who else?"

Surprisingly, Aang wasn't all that shocked, even though she had just admitted in a round-about way that she liked Sokka. He took a deep breath.

"I think it must run in the family." He said suddenly. "I mean, Katara didn't even realize it until I kissed her, and even then…"

"Shut up, Twinkletoes," Toph cut in, "You don't know what you're talking about."

Aang bristled – which was rare for him – because if there was anything he understood, it was pining away after someone and not even being sure if they would ever reciprocate. How dare Toph assume…

"I was talking about how he tipped over the cook pot and burned his hand." She explained.

Aang's anger sputtered to a halt, and all he could say was, "Oh." Toph laughed and earthbent a pillar that pushed her back up onto her feet.

"Served him right for not paying attention." She said.

"Y-y-yeah. Served him right…" Aang stuttered absentmindedly. So that meant, she didn't like Sokka?

"See ya, Aang." Toph said, and she walked away, she told herself to mind what she said. Aang had almost guessed what she really meant.


	2. Flame

Sokka handed her the candle, which she took groggily, listening with her feet and ears as he bustled back to the wooden table and picked up a scroll.

She wasn't sure why he'd gotten her up at this time of night, but she could hear him talking to himself and laughing quietly over the rustling of the scrolls. She yawned and rubbed an eye. Hot wax rolled down the side of the candle and touched her finger. She bit down a yelp and put it in her other hand so she could suck on the small burn. Her attention diverted from Sokka's mumblings to the candle. The waxy surface was soft and warm under her fingers, and if she brought it too close to her face she could feel the heat from the flame. Staring into her perpetual darkness, the candle seemed trivial and unneccessary.

But she could remember. People found beauty in flame. She didn't know why. It made light, but that didn't affect her. She couldn't even really get her head around light. But the heat, the possibilty of burning... and yet, they found it beautiful. Familiar sorrow filled Toph, sorrow that was usually well-hidden. She acted like being blind didn't affect her, but it did. What did beautiful mean? What was it that people saw that she couldn't?

Sokka turned around with a scroll in his far hand and reached for the candle Toph held as he talked softly about whatever it was he was doing, but he cut off abruptly and froze when he looked at Toph. There was something in her eyes, something in the reflection of the flame glinting there that filled him with sadness. Out of character, she was drooping, and the fingers around the candle were gentle and limp. Her hand went to her upper arm nervously as she realized he was looking at her. She hated being so vunerable. She voiced the question that was burning inside her.

"Sokka, what does it look like?"

"Huh?" He said intelligently.

"The flame, I guess. I know it's hard, but I need to know."

"Um..." Sokka stood straight and scratched the back of his neck. "I guess..."

Then he looked in those eyes again, which were cast to the side as if to avoid his gaze, though she didn't know either way. He tried to think of what to say.

"Fire is like passion. It's warm and inviting, but if it's too hot, it can burn you. It looks kind of like that. The stuff it's made of, the light, spills out onto everything around it, just like laughter spills out onto people around you and makes them laugh too. It's like a piece of lava, or a burning coal, but lighter, like air. It looks like the spark between two people when they meet, or the love someone holds inside for someone else." He blushed fiercely and was greatful that it was dark, and that she couldn't see it anyways. She listened carefully, barely moving a muscle. Sokka couldn't think of any other ways to describe it. "I don't know how else to explain it..." He deadpanned.

She smiled gently, and his heart skipped. What was wrong with him? Was it the candlelight, which shined on her face and jumped in her eyes? Or the moonlight, which streamed in through the window behind her and bounced off her hair and skin?

"I think I understand better, now." She said softly. "Thank you." She blushed, but in the warm light, he didn't see. He wondered why his heart was beating so fast.

"Not a problem." He mumbled, before he cleared his throat and took the candle gently from her, his fingers twitching as they brushed hers, and turned back to his scrolls as blood rushed to her face and widened her smile before she could stop it.


	3. When You Walk Away

You are so oblivious.

Dumb. Clueless. Dense. Unaware. Ignorant. Forgetful. Childish. Impatient. Whiny. Sarcastic. Hungry. Arrogant. Chauvinist. Pessimistic…

Adorable. Gentle. Strong. Brave. Warm. Protective.

I know these things. I know so much about you. I can recognize your footsteps a mile away. I can feel your heartbeat the strongest out of everyone around us. I wish it would beat faster, harder, around me, like it does around _her. _But no. Your heart beat doesn't speed up near me. It slows down. I guess it's flattering that you're so relaxed around me, that I'm your best friend.

But I want more. You have no idea. You don't seem to have a clue. Even though I can feel my heartbeat race and I blush like crazy, you don't see it. I kind of wish you were like me so that I wouldn't have to tell you…

how much I love you.

Yeah, I admit it. I love you. I've loved you since I got to know you, I think, since I settled into the group. And then she showed up. I tried to make a move at the Serpent's Pass before she claimed you completely, but…

I kind of made a fool of myself instead. I think she's the only one who knows about how I feel about you. Then again, she might just think it's a childish crush. She doesn't even see me as a threat. You haven't shown any signs of being attracted to me, anyways.

Am I that ugly? Am I that boyish? Around the time we got to the fire nation… I… I changed. I could feel it. I don't know if you noticed, but I actually started feeling like a girl, so maybe I started to look like one, too?

If I did, you didn't notice. Yeah, you sang my praises when I saved your butt with earthbending, or made things more convenient in your plans. I was always the crutch, the one that everything relied on. You thought I was able to do anything. Anything you could dream of that involved or metal or rock, I was the answer. Giant metal door? No problem. Huge cliff face? No problem. Army-sized tunnel? No problem.

You praised my skills, but you never said thank you.

Then Zuko burned my feet. That was almost a good thing, because I got your undivided attention. It was always about whether I was comfortable, or in pain, or wanted to know what was going on. You cared for me, and carried me around, and kept me in the loop. But that might have just been because you needed my earthbending for more of your plans. How flattering. (That was sarcasm, in case you missed it.)

But then, you risked your life to save _her_, and brought her back with your dad (who totally rocks, by the way) and you ignored me. It hurt, you know? I may act like a rock, but I still have feelings. Totally ditching your best friend for a girl is not cool. Especially if she likes you, even if you don't know it.

We won the war. Yup, it was great. But what was even better was that you protected me. _Me. _Not my earthbending or anything. You protected Toph, because you didn't want to lose me. I even thought you might lose me, but you held onto me until we were safe. You sacrificed your sword and boomerang for me. Only me. Suki wasn't there that time.

You did it for me. Even after that, reunited with Suki, you and I were cracking jokes on Chicken King. Suki even tried to join in, and she couldn't do it. Couldn't you see? Didn't you see we belonged together, you and I? Nothing would be better. Best friends, lovers, the whole shebang. Everything. We could have been everything.

Instead, the day came when you said goodbye, and you left. You left me with my parents, who went right back to running my life. You left with her. What then?

And as you walked away, I listened hard to your footsteps. They were slower than usual, hesitant. You didn't want to leave. I knew. I knew everything about you.

I'll always remember when you walked away.


	4. Hide and Seek

Toph sat on the concrete edge, staring down with sightless eyes into the churning water that reflected the sunlight up into a shifting net of light over her face. She tossed her head and sweeped her loose ponytail over her shoulder onto her back. Then she looked back in the general direction of where his voice had come from.

"Are you serious?"

The tan young man pouted as he treaded water. "C'mon, Toph, it'll be fun."

"Solid ground suits me better. I can't swim." She argued.

"It's just a game, and you can use a floatie. Besides, it's not like we can play hide and seek the normal way. On land, you have the absolute advantage. I wouldn't be able to hide anywhere. On ice, you wouldn't even be able to look for me at all because you'd run into things." She scowled at that, which he didn't take notice of. "Water is the only equal ground we have, and the game is easy. Plus, you won't be able to cheat like my sister does."

Toph couldn't help but smile at that. "Fine. I'll give it a try." He grinned and pushed the small innertube over to her. She stuck her feet in it and slid into the water. Propping herself on the floating plastic tube, she asked, "So what is this game you keep talking about? It's like hide and seek?"

"Kind of. It's called 'Open Waters'. One person swims around with their eyes closed trying to find the other person. If then need a clue, they say 'open' and the other person has to say 'waters!' The point is to keep away from the person saying 'open' as long as possible. When they catch someone, that person becomes 'it.'"

Toph frowned. "But there are only the two of us, and won't I always be 'it' since I can't really ever 'open' my eyes?"

Sokka shrugged, which she didn't see, and said "We'll figure it out as we go along. For now, you can be 'it' first, to get a feel for it."

She sighed. "Fine." She waited a second, and then said, "Open."

"Waters." Sokka replied. He was a little further away and to the left of where he was before. She could hear him gently splashing as he moved farther left. She paddled her floatie closer to him. The splashing stopped and she couldn't hear him.

"Open."

"Waters." He was behind her now! How did he do that? A little frustrated, she kicked to spin herself around and then stopped, quieting so that she could hear him if he swimmed. She lost track and had to say open again.

This went on for a few minutes.

Frustrated, she ineffectively punched at the water. "This isn't fair, Sokka, I can't swim as well as you can!"

"Just keep trying." He said from suprisingly close to her. She kicked the water and jumped towards the voice, but she only found empty water.

"Sokka..." She growled. He chuckled from a ways away. Finally, she said "open" again.

"Waters." He responded.

Smug, she swum closer to him, splashing alot with her feet. She tuned up her hearing. She didn't have earthbending to help her, but she still had the best hearing in the gang. As she sum rythmically, she put the sound of her own splashing out of her mind so that she could hear his splashing as he swum past her going the other direction, trying to foil her again. Toph listened carefully until the splashing was nearly in front of her and then suddenly jumped to the side, and was gratified by the feeling of smooth shoulders beneath her fingers. He jumped and almost forgot to keep treading water, and sputtered a little bit in suprise until he regained his composure and pushed himself well above the surface again and laughed.

Toph was smiling smugly and floated in front of where he treaded water, her hands on his shoulders still. "I got you!" She said.

"Yeah, you did." He laughed. "How did you do that?"

She laughed as well. "The best earthbender in the world doesn't share her secrets, Snoozles. You should know that."

As he looked at her, something struck him that he'd never felt before. It'd been a year and a half since Suki had broken up with him, and he hadn't really been interested in a new girlfriend since then. But as he looked at Toph in front of him, nearly seventeen now, he felt an uncertain desire to try something rash. Her smile was so contagious, and her hair, still mostly dry, hung down in front of her pale eyes. Her green tankini didn't show unecessary skin, but she was beautiful anyways.

He wasn't sure what she'd do... probably throw a punch. He had an irresistable desire to try it, though, if only to see what her reaction was.

"I have a new secret you could keep, if you wanted to." Lame, he knew, but it was all he could come up with on the fly. She stared into space around where his eyes were curiously. She didn't have the slightest idea what he was talking about. He put his hands on her inner tube and pulled her closer to him in the water. She could feel it swishing about her legs from his treading.

"What is it?" She breathed a bit nervously. His face was closer to hers than she could remember it ever being, and the blood rushed to her face. She hoped she was sunburnt enough to hide it.

She barely heard him breathe "This" before her entire comprehension was taken up by the feel of his lips on hers. She took a surprised intake of breath, and he started to pull away, but she pulled him back and returned the kiss. When they parted he looked at her curiously.

"You took that alot better than I thought you would." He laughed.

"What did you think I was going to do?" She asked rather loudly.

"I dunno, punch me or something." He smiled. "But you didn't." She blushed.

"That's cause I like you, I've always liked you."

"I should hope so. You're my best friend."

She did punch him then. He flinched. "Not just like as in friend, Meathead!" She exclaimed. "I loved y..." She choked it off.

"You what?" He asked, his grin bigger than ever. Who would've known?

"Don't make me say it..." She said, rather embarrassed in an out of character moment.

"But I want to hear it." He said. "Please?"

She took a breath and stared at him hard with sightless eyes. Their faces were still very close together. "I love you, you moron. I've been hiding, and you've finally stopped counting and bothered to find me."

He smiled. "I'm sorry. I've only realized it now, but I think I love you, too." He gave her one more peck before releasing her and calling over his shoulder, "You're it!"

She blushed and stayed still a moment before she jerked. "Nuh uh! I caught you, you cheater!" She paddled after him, laughing.


End file.
